One woman's never-ending battle for health, fitness, and the natural way.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Functional Exercise

There you are, Monday after work, thinking about how you really should go exercise, but feeling fatigued, sleepy, recovering from your weekend. At least, that's how I am on some Mondays. However, this past Sunday I was reflecting to my boyfriend that I hadn't done anything of particular exertion that day, so I would have no excuses not to go exercise after work the next day.

I had a choice: bike over to the park and go hiking, or bike downtown and take care of some errands. The choice depended entirely on one variable: whether I received, during the course of the day, a paycheck to deposit at the bank. Once that piece of paper was in my hands, it was final.

Biking downtown made for a very nice trip. I didn't have to deal with the other drivers, or finding and paying for parking. There's a sturdy bike rack outside the library, and I was able to walk my bike right into the post office and up to the atm. The trip to downtown was a cinch: it was downhill the entire way. The return trip was what I knew would be a chore. I am not, nor have I ever been, a strong cyclist. Sure, it was easy to do 10 mile pleasure trips around Long Beach because that's all flat. Maybe there's one hill, or an overpass. This trip kicked my butt the first time I tried it, way back last winter.

Enter: actual use of the gears on my bicycle! Made things much easier. I nearly made it all the way home. The last rise to the stop sign close to my house was just too much, so I stepped off and pushed the bike the rest of the way. Still, success! I exercised, I got things done, I saved some gas. I was even home earlier than I expected. Productive leisure at its finest.

I made some ice cream this weekend, since it was warm and I wanted a tasty dessert. It was an experiment in flavorings, though: 1 C milk, 1 C cream, and 1 C half and half mixed up with 1 egg yolk and 1/4 C honey. Added 1 rounded T cocoa powder, 1 rounded t cinnamon, and a dash of vanilla. The sweetness level is good, and the flavor is slightly reminiscent of a malted milkshake. A win, in my books.